A breath of time
by BuYaoNi
Summary: "I am aware that I could be dispose of at anytime, but I will tell you that I will not fall so easily, and I am always ready to defend myself."
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own the game or anime.

A/N: -It's been a while since I have written anything. So, I am still trying to get back to the flow of things.

-The idea came from watching Zatoichi meets the One-armed swordsman, I noticed that the characters were from completely different time periods (haha) and watching the Hakuouki anime. It's something I have been thinking about for a while.

Edited: 1/06/18

* * *

"He cannot continue the conflict, but gives way and  
submits to fate; changing his disposition, he finds peace  
in perseverance."  
\- I ching

* * *

A breath of time

Rows of flickering flames hidden inside rows of lanterns swinging lightly as it hanged along the many shops. Smoothing out a sheet of paper, laying it flat over a wrapped box, with only the name and the establishment written on there, before placing it all back into the satchel. Walking among the crowded streets was a youth, a stranger; a nobody gazed at the sullen colors of the sunset between the silhouettes of the many shops on the horizon. The name of the establishment had appeared finally. An inn.  
The youth quicken the pace, as the youth walked closer, a crowd had gathered, what had been a mixture of smoked meat and sake in the air from the many buildings along the way was filled with a familiar heavy scent of fresh blood.

Instead of staring along with the onlookers, only taking a quick glance, the youth hastily turned away in disgust. _Probably a fight over the demands of respect and pride, fools killing each other, it does not mean anything when you are dead or what witnesses think._ _You are either a corpse or a murderer.  
_ And the youth remembered:  
 _Standing on the arena without railings, one slip could be fatal. The feeling of the stale air, the sun's rays overhead. The loud cheers from the sea of people excited to see who would win. A yell ending in a wet gurgle as the slip of a blade drive itself deep through flesh, the crack as it struck bone, going down, and opening a crimson river. As soon as the body fell dead, there was silence that soon turned into jeers and sneers._

The youth snorted. Wishing not to have been reminded of those kinds of brawls. _Tch, you give it your all and survive or just be killed._

* * *

The youth waded through a blob of bodies watching from the door and soon made way into the inn. The innkeeper was behind a desk speaking to a customer.  
"The Roshigumi are at it again," the customer said in a hushed voice. "It's one thing causing a ruckus back in Kyoto, but to do that in Osaka…."  
"To think they could just go around and cause problems here…," the innkeeper replied, his head shaking side to side. "Just a pack of bloodthirsty savages."  
"Agreed, Kyoto was not enough for them, they had to do that in Osaka."

The youth shifted through the satchel taking out the box, holding it up from behind the customer for the innkeeper to see. The innkeepers eyes shifted upwards and the corners of his mouth turned up into a please smile.  
"Ah, is it the mulberry twigs, erythrina bark, and the star jasmine vines?"

The youth did not respond only placing the open box in front of the innkeeper and taking the payment for the delivery. A small frown appeared on the innkeeper's brow. "Well, I am glad it is finally here, my knees, hands, and back are not what it used to be."

The youth only nodded as a response to a satisfied customer. He sighed when the youth still did not speak. He was a little annoyed at the way the youth kept nodding in response to what he said- but he tried to be patient. "Will you need a room?" he asked. "Obviously, you have traveled a long way and it is already very dark out, besides someone such as yourself might want to steer clear of those savages out there…."

The youth nodded once more, placing money taken from the youth's satchel, and moved further into the inn. "Make sure to ground the herbs thoroughly before soaking and boiling it. Remember not to soak in the bath with it for too long and rinse the body with clean water," the youth said suddenly, as if continuing the conversation before the innkeeper drifted off to another topic.

* * *

The next morning came by as a blur, passing through the crowded marketplace, seeing different and unique items; the youth had not felt such feelings of innocent glee since traveling through the southern and northern providences several years before while being in the company of family. At the time, the youth tried different types of foods and hearing the different accents from other regions. There were many kinds of goods the merchants had to offer such as different kinds of things from spices, porcelain to ginseng. The youth would have bought some then if the youth had enough money. The sight of the exquisitely smooth, soft texture of the fabric, reminded the youth of what some people wore back home. While the youth reminiscent the missing memories at the same time a childish voice cut through the marketplace.

"Get out of Osaka!"

The youth turned to see a crowd gather. The youth managed to see through the crowd to see it was the same group of men from before. "You're a nuisance!" shouted a boy who appeared at most thirteen or fourteen. The youth could not see the boy's face, but could feel the defiance as the boy faced the imposing man, who most likely was the leader. Next to the man was another who seemed to be too….kind or his head was filled with air to be associated with such a group, though there seemed to be others who did not seem fit in it as well. The strange man was trying to convince the leader to let it go and excuse the boy because it was only just youthful inexperience.

 _Stupid kid, don't just keep egging him on. Just run while you still can! Is anyone going to step in as well to stop this or is that kid just going to get himself killed?_ The youth thought angrily. The last thing the youth wanted to do was to get involved over another's affairs, it only lead to more problems. It would have been easier to just keep walking and not bother, but it was something the youth could not easily ignore. It could be that seeing the strong that prey on the weak that really drove the youth up the wall. On the other hand, that the kid was not too far from the age the youth was at when things went completely wrong at the time.

"You're nothing but savages!" the boy continued on with almost no fear of the chances of being simply cut down where he stood. The man raised his eyebrows in amusement. Did that boy actually say that, he almost thought he had heard wrong, and then he started to laugh involuntarily. There stood a lowly peasant, a boy who has yet grown to be a man, and desperate to die getting bold with samurai of his status, with the Roshigumi. People stepped aside as they go, it command fear and respect. Moreover, the boy did not show the smallest sign of that. That would not be tolerated, no matter how ridiculous it was.

"You may not be a samurai," the man said as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "But you may die as one."  
The man took a few slow steps towards the boy and looked down on him as he began to unsheathe his sword. Then out of the corner of his eye something flew towards him, sliding the sword out of its scabbard, the man swung upwards only to have the thing swing the other way and coming in to a straight line into his gut. Going back a few steps and feeling the slight air knocked out of him, it dawn on him as he began to realize a light pain had spread. It was nothing that he could not handle, but it did take him by surprise. His eyes were alert looking around to find who had managed to strike him. He noticed the boy was farther back and in front of him was a stranger….a foreigner? The stranger stood with a walking stick firmly beside him, his face held nothing but disgust as he looked down at him through cold eyes.

The youth was no stranger to violence…each hand slid into position of the walking stick, holding it into a staff. Brown eyes were visible through the locks of hair that draped and flowed across the lower half of the youth's face while the rest of it was tied into a bun. A shabby, frayed scarf looped loosely around the neck, above an equally frayed robe that went down towards the cloth-covered calves, and ended with the dark covered footwear. The only thing that did not seemed to be worn was the sword that was attached to the youth's left hip.

The kinder looking man tried to intervene. "He's just a foreigner; he does not know who you are or who we are for that matter," he said in an even tone.

The man held out his sword once more, standing up fully, towering over the youth. "A stick in a sword fight, huh?" the man said, his tone mocking, but he held a cold sneer in his eyes. "To think I was struck by some foreign brat."

As soon as the words were spoken, he swung hard and fast towards the youth, he hacked at the youth relentlessly, but the youth just barely parried his every move. The youth quickly parried to make room to counter back, swinging it towards the man's throat, a move that could either be a move to incapacitate or to kill. But with perfect precision the man swung down, slicing the stick in half. The surprise of it made youth pause for a short moment, before the youth leaped nimbly back to get out of the way. Then man saw arms moving and two sticks flew through the air. The man ducks the first one and it missed his head by barely an inch. The second one came and he knocked it down.

Fingers brushed against metal; the youth pulled the sword from its scabbard and held it out in front ready to continue to face the dangers. As both warriors were ready to clash swords, a calm, quiet voice spoke from behind the man. "Serizawa-san, if he is a foreigner, then it should be up to the Osaka magistrate to decide," said a young man dressed in a simple black robe. "We are not to engage in personal duels."

The man called Serizawa let out a laugh that rippled outward, starting as a low grumbled before it exploded aloud as he sheathed his sword. "No need to wait for those fools," he said. "Just bring the foreigner back to Kyoto and just make an example of him."

The youth's eyes widen slightly, gripping the hilt of the sword tightly, ready to fight for an escape. The youth faced the man who had just spoken against engaging in a duel. The man walked towards the youth and nodded slightly. "Saito Hajime," he said, waiting for the youth to respond with a name. When the youth did not respond immediately, the man that called himself Saito Hajime continue to speak. "My apologies, but I will use force if necessary."

The youth stepped into a ready stance as a response to the apology as Saito slid his own blade out of its scabbard and settled in to a ready stance. _Left handed?_ The youth remarked silently. _Will I be able to keep up? I am not the most proficient with the reverse._ The youth slowly changed hands slightly.

Saito thrusted his own weapon straight to cut through the youth's skull. The next swing came from the right side toward the youth's throat. Holding the sword vertically, the youth defended the neck by slicing down hard, causing Saito to lose balance slightly and spin to the right to keep from falling.

The youth cursed the moments of the decision to defend that silly boy from that man called Serizawa. Once again, the youth swung the weapon overhead only to meet Saito's sword head on with a loud metallic scream. Each time the sword clanged upon the youth's weapon, the youth could feel the vibrations. The pain shooting from wrist to elbow. Raising the sword overhead, ready to swing down, Saito suddenly ducked out of the youth's sight. The youth saw it coming, but it caught the youth off guard. Watching it come towards the middle of the youth's body, expecting the sword to drive itself deep into the stomach, and watching blood explode everywhere. Instead, it felt as if a balled fist had made contact instead. Feeling the entrails being smashed, the blood burst under the collapse of the diaphragm. The youth's breath instantly left, forcing the youth to double over on to bent knees. Seeing briefly that Saito had used the hilt of his sword to drive into the youth's stomach. The youth could taste the bile and a hint of blood threatening to spill out. As the youth's crumpled body hit the ground, the youth could hear someone issue an order "Nagakura-kun, carry that foreign brat back to headquarters..." before the youth's vision began to fade into darkness.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading!

-Hopefully, it was not too difficult to read. My beta is MIA at the moment.

-I wanted to try a different writing view. I'll keep trying to do better. Only a few months of not writing and it just felt so difficult to write things correctly!

-Anyways, I am thinking of writing this as a two or three part series. I sort of have an outline for it.

-Also, the title is from an idiom. Its meaning is a poetic way of referring to a very short time span. Such as how long it takes a person breathe in and out, about 1-3 seconds. I used it as how a short time it takes to make a choice can impact someone's outcome.


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I do not own the game or anime.

A/N: I am so sorry, it's been so long! I just got really busy with general life. It's been a while since I have really wrote anything, so I am still trying to get back into the flow of things. Trying to write show, not tell is really tough! Also, there are other stories I have to rewrite again...

Edited: 1/06/18 Had to fix the last paragraphs a bit. Also, following the some of the scenes from one of the episodes.

* * *

Keep off your thoughts from things that are past and done;  
For thinking of the past wakes regret and pain.  
Keep off your thoughts from thinking what will happen;  
To think of the future fills one with dismay.  
Better by day to sit like a stone in your bed.  
When food comes, then open your mouth;  
When sleep comes, then close your eyes.

\- Bai Juyi – Resignation

* * *

Chapter two

There was nothing but darkness. Nothing to see. Nothing to hear. Just a feeling of heaviness. Slowly blinking the first thing that caught the youth's attention was that the youth was sitting upright and what to be a warehouse, for storage. The youth's body was in pain and the youth could not move. It took a while to realize that the youth's hands were tied behind in the back and the feet were bound. There was sunlight seeping through under the door. _The last thing I ate was in the morning, my stomach is telling me it must have been more than a whole day, about the time of the Wu. He sure hit me hard enough.  
_  
The youth was aware of the sounds that seem to be coming closer from the other side of the door. Sitting still and leaning forward to appear unconscious, the youth listened and heard the door being opened. _Here to check to see if I am awake or to finish me off?_ The youth heard the sound of something being dragged through the floor. It did not take long for the footsteps to leave and the door locking. Not before the youth could catch them mentioned something about the 'prisoners' being used for something. Turning up to see what was dumped in the warehouse, it was another poor slob beaten as if he owed them money. Scanning the warehouse, the youth was relieved to spot the belongings and most importantly the youth's sword in the corner. Twisting around to pull the bound legs through the loop between the bound hands, tapping the foot, a small blade shot out from under one of the shoes. Second by second, minute by minute the youth managed to cut off the ropes. Glancing at the beaten man, the youth was sorry for the man, but could not risk the freedom that was within grasp. They could be back anytime now. Grabbing the sword and bag, looking up, the youth climbed atop the crates and barrels, leaping and grabbing onto one of the many pillars and columns. Perched on top of it, scanning from out the small window, studying the layout, planning where to run. Watching and waiting for it to become dark enough to escape into the night. _I will have to aim for the time of Hai to slip pass without being caught._

It seemed like an eternity before the youth heard sounds coming from the other side of the door. In came a lone man, walking in with a purpose. The lone man stared for another minute, noticing that there was only one prisoner, but it did not deter what he came in for. The youth thought the beaten man was to be used to test the sharpness of a blade, but instead the youth caught sight of a vial that was filled with a bright liquid. The youth watched and could see if it were in the daylight the lone man holding the vial seem to be a weakling that paled in contrast to the group of men the youth encountered earlier. In the night and with the half-light that emanated from the flame of that feeble candle, it was different. Somehow, what the lone man planning to do now seemed sinister and almost frightening. The youth reached out slowly towards the window, and ran a hand down the panels, feeling the grooves where they were joined; it should have been easy as the man was distracted. But the youth could not look away, a feeling of dread crept up from the pit of the youth's stomach, the hairs rose on the back of the neck. Watching from above with morbid curiosity.  
The man poured the liquid into the beaten man's mouth. All of a sudden, groaning and screaming with anguish, he writhed about on the floor. Sweat poured down the beaten man's face, as his hair changed from dark to white. The colour drained from his face, eyes glowed bright as hot coals, and his screams of pain became a guttural roar. _It's a… monster._

With strength not possible for any human to have, as the man rammed the door, the door exploded outwards. Crawling on all fours that was truly fitting for a beast, dripping with thick strands of mucous and saliva. It almost seemed as if its mouth was bristled with row upon row of jagged teeth ready to rip and tear, staring wildly at all it looked at. Soon shouts could be heard; soon the others showed up, and with an unimaginable force, it propelled itself towards the roof of the nearby building. Leaping towards its escape.

* * *

It was another quiet night, alone in the kitchen, scrapping off the morsels from the bowls and plates. Sitting back, Ryunosuke wondered what he would do once he leave the crap-hole he is in, if he did not think of something it will be the usual chores and bringing sake to Serizawa each day. As he sat contemplating his choices, a yell suddenly cut through the silence. Running out towards the back where the yell was, all of a sudden something burst through from the side.

A dark figure loomed over in front of him. Its face hidden around the dirt that flew around it. Only to reveal itself with eyes that were … not human, a monster. Ryunosuke froze looking at the human creature. His legs felt like weak and he couldn't move. Sweat poured down his body as he was paralyzed to the spot. It looked at him and Ryunosuke almost let out a whimper. He thought that this was it, that he was going to die here. However, all of a sudden the thing just leapt on to the roof of one of the buildings and continued to leap over to the next ones.

Shouts were coming from behind him but all Ryunosuke did whimper and his legs collapsed underneath him. A hand lifted up to touch his shoulder. Ryunosuke looked up to see Heisuke and the others behind him. "Ryunosuke what happened? You okay?"

"Hijikata!" One of them shouted as they all took in the scene in front of them. Hijikata turned to Ryunosuke immediately. "Where did he go?!"  
Lifting a shaking finger Ryunosuke pointed to the direction where the thing ran off.

"After Him!" Hijikata shouted. "Souji! Sannan!"

* * *

"Souji! Sannan!" The youth watched what appeared to be an imposing man with waist length hair, whose rank was high enough to bark out orders for them to search for the beast of a man who escaped. They scattered and only three of them approached the warehouse. The youth could see the lone man from earlier was now cowering. "Do-do you need something?"

"Don't play dumb!" One of the three men shouted. "That was a fury's voice."

The younger of three spoked as well. "Want to die?"  
It would be almost amusing to watch, but what made the youth pay attention was that there was a name for what that beaten man had become. _A…fury?  
_

"Why all this fuss in the middle of the night?" a gruff voice suddenly spoke over from behind them. Soon the chief of the organization, Serizawa, had appeared unamused. "You're making a commotion."

The man crawled frantically towards Serizawa. "I-I was just testing the Water of Life," the man stuttered.

"Who did you administer it to?"

"Not one of our own," stuttered the cowering man. "I used the ronin that Serizawa sensei arrested."  
The cowering man's mouth kept moving but the words disappeared. The man's eyes narrowed. He then found his voice again. "Well…there was supposed to be that foreigner that was bought here as well…but he was already gone when I came in today…."

"Niimi, why did you do that without consulting us?" A man with glasses asked.

 _Niimi is that cowering man's name…_

"I did it to improve our results faster!" Niimi quickly explained. "Plus it was not a complete failure this time."

"He was able to retain his senses at first...," Niimi continued before he was cut off.

"But ultimately, you allowed a monster that will indiscriminately attack people break free," one of them said as he stepped forward. "How will you take responsibility for this?"

"E-even if you wanted me to take responsibility…," he began before being once more cut off mid-sentence.

"Henceforth, I will not keep my peace… Breaking the Code is punishable by honorable suicide," the man with the higher rank growled. "Don't forget that."

"I-I will be sure to beat that in mind."

"Now that we have come to an understanding," the man began. "Serizawa, what did you do with that foreigner?"

"Hm? I didn't do anything," Serizawa said dismissively. "Just had him locked in here."

"The door was still locked when I arrived here!" Niimi began to explain. "No one else knows about the foreigner besides the captains…."

After a brief moment the man with glasses said, "Hijikata, then the only explanation is that boy is still here."

* * *

 _Get out of here. Escape._

 _Torture. Blood. Death._ The thought came with a hand inching out down the panels leading to the outside. A careful touch, slowly touching the sides. _Breathe. Calm down. Focus._ Eyes darted sided to side. Down and up to make sure they are still distracted. A hand grasped onto the hilt of the sword, swiftly one foot out, soon the other will follow. Carefully, quietly, halfway out, escape is within grasp. A little thump that echoed through the air; an insignificant piece of the tile rolling down the side, making the smallest of sound as it pluck into the ground made the youth realize what just happened- they have heard it.

All heads turned to look up, catching the youth in midst of escape. Hearing the pulse beating painfully between the ears, the youth lifted the other leg over the edge, a short scale of the roof. Looking down to gauge how far the drop was before leaping off completely. The youth landed with a thump, with only the moon as the only light, the youth quickly made a dash towards the nearest wall. The youth could hear the loud rhythm of the other men's feet as they beat against the hard ground. The youth could hear a pair of footsteps already gaining behind. With such lightning speed, the youth spun on nimble heels, flinging the bag. There was a gleam of light, slicing the bag. It was the younger one of the three, with sword drawn, prepared for a fight. Or itching for one.

The youth just turned and kept running through the open, choosing to escape rather than fight. The youth's heart skipped a beat; the escape was within reach. There were sounds of someone shouting in the distant. As the youth leap up towards the ledge of the wall, the night air carved through the youth's lungs, but it did not matter, freedom was right there. The sigh of relief of catching onto the ledge. It was short lived when a clawed hand closed around the youth's ankle, pulling down. Wrenching the youth's grip from the ledge of the wall, the youth cried out as escape was pried from desperate hands. The youth just barely broke the fall and managed to get to bent knees. Crouched, one hand on the hilt, the youth looked up ready to face whoever was closest. Instead, the youth was met with the very end of a sword, pointed squarely in the youth's face.  
The youth's eyes slowly slid up to the eyes of the man called Hijikata. His eyebrows furrowed as his mouth was pressed into a thin line. He had a dangerous glint in his eyes that flashed a heavy warning.

"I wouldn't try it, if I were you."

* * *

Eleven. There are eleven of them in total. And the youth stood in the middle of them, until one of them kicked the youth behind the knees, forcing the youth onto bent knees.

Fear clenched in the youth's heart and throat. Feeling the fear slowly clawing its way. Drawing the youth into a feeling of suffocation. Eyes darted around accessing the size of the room and position of space the other men were occupying. There was a possible chance that the youth could just ram into the door, and when it breaks, make a run for it. The youth was relieved that the feet were left unbound, but having bound hands will cause some trouble.

"I remember him being brought in, but I didn't realize how short and scrawny he was," said one of the men who looked about the same age as the youth.

"You're one to talk!" said another who let out a belly laugh.

"He got the same build as you!" said another.

"Enough already," said Hijikata.

"Please excuse them," the kinder looking man said. "My name is Kondōu Isami."

 _So, that's his name._

"Why are you even bothering with introductions, Kondōu-san?"

"Eh, Souji..."

"We'll end up having to kill him anyways."

 _The one who was itching to kill...so that's his name._

The man called Serizawa finally spoke up. "So, what to do with you?"

The youth tried to stare at Serizawa unflinchingly, to betray no trace of fear, or any other emotions that threatened to spill out. It was clear that many have died by their hands, many who might have been stronger than the youth, but the youth would not give any satisfaction of letting them know how much fear was swirling inside.

"Since you saw all that…It would be easier to just kill you and be done with it."

"Serizawa-san, he's a foreigner," Kondou said. "It's most likely that he does not understand a word we are talking about…."

"Then just test the water of life on the foreign brat," Serizawa said dismissively. "Though, it would be more trouble, now wouldn't it?"

Serizawa returned a hard stare at the youth. "You've had a few kills on your hands, I see."

"Serizawa-san...," Kondou began to say before he was cut off.

"Do as you please," Serizawa said staring at the kinder looking man. "He's your responsibility now."

After that was said, Serizawa rose up from his position, and left, following closely behind to leave was Niimi.

Chuckling, Souji turned his head. "So, Kondou-san, you got yourself an attendant," turning his head once more, throwing a short glance at the youth, "Guess, you get to live a while longer."

"Hey, you should get that kid to spar Heisuke! Two shrimps duking it out!"

"Stuff it, Shinpachi!" shouted Heisuke.

"Inoue-san, could you bring a brush and paper?"

"Of course, Kondou-san," said Inoue.

Kondou moved to untie the youth's hands. "There now, that's better," he said trying to start a conversation. "As I said, my name is Kondōu Isami," he said, pointing to himself and trying to make a gesture of introduction.

Shortly, the man called Inoue came back with a brush and paper. "Could you tell us your name?" Kondou asked pointing to the paper and brush and then to the youth.

The youth picked up the brush and began writing. After drawing the many strokes, the youth handed the paper to Kondou.

"Ah, your name is Hayashi—"he started to say before the youth interrupted him.

"Rin Tohi (Lín Téngfēi)."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope it was not too much of an eyesore to read!

-I will try to keep writing when I have time, because my schedule is going to be hectic for a while...

-Also, please leave a comment and tell me what you think! For the most part I have an idea for the story, but sometimes I ask myself if it is even interesting at all, and that would people even read it. haha

-Also the character 林 is Lín in Chinese and in Japanese it would translate to Hayashi.


End file.
